Is IP address a public entity?

November 26, 20142k views

Hello,

I have started using DigitalOcean for several of my needs like ownCloud, etc. for privacy reasons. This is the first time I am using a server for production needs. I was wondering if I should keep IP address of my droplet as private as possible for example not linking it to myself on the web or by not associating it with my domain, etc.. Is it the wrong way to go about privacy and security? Is it fine to use my personal named domain with my droplet? Is it better to get an obscured domain specially for the DO droplet?

If you already have a domain registered, it is simple to create a subdomain and point it to your VPS. Alternatively, you can use an anonymous domain, such as dyndns or No-IP to point to the IP of your VPS.

As ahrotahntee said, your IP address is in the public domain anyway, and is required to access any service on your VPS as any domain name you give the box will resolve back to it anyway.

What is of more importance is securing the box, so that it has a minimal attack surface when people do target it. This means an effective firewall (iptables), careful configuration, good access authentication (keybased, not password based) and using another user account rather than root where possible.

I was gravitating towards using anonymous domain as a way to avoid identification of my droplet with me to avoid any possible targeted attacks. I might be over-thinking. And I think the more I use the droplet the more I personally identify it. So eventually I should think more about minimizing attack surface.